Brandon Brooks describes his reaction to offseason trade reports

[time2rock]

Brandon Brooks describes his reaction to offseason trade reports

 

 

 

Reuben Frank

EAGLES INSIDER

It didn’t bother Brandon Brooks that the Eagles were trying to trade him.

He figured if he went to another team, he’d just be the best guard in the NFL for that team instead of the Eagles.

That’s how he thinks.

Brooks, the Eagles’ three-time Pro Bowl guard, said Thursday it didn’t bother him when his name came up in trade talks this past offseason.

"This is a business, man,” he said. "The second you lose sight of this is a business is the second it gets to you. So for me, I get it. I’m an older guy, coming off an injury, at the time we were cash-strapped, make a lot of money. I get it. It didn’t hurt my feelings. I understand it’s a business.”

Brooks, who will turn 32 before the 2021 season begins, missed all of last year after blowing out his Achilles last June. He hasn’t finished a season healthy since 2017. And he did carry a $12 million cap figure at the point the Eagles were shopping him, since lowered to $7 million through a restructure.

So in a sense it’s understandable that the Eagles did talk to other teams about Brooks.

The one thing that bothered him was how he heard that the Eagles were shopping him.

"The only thing I wish about that actually was instead of hearing it from my mom — my mom being like, ‘Hey, where are we going?’ - it would have been nice to get a phone call (that) this was going on.

"But other than that? It’s a business, man, and I never lose sight of that. Hey, man, (if) something happened the biggest thing I’d miss was the fans in the city. There are no better fans, and I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else or go anywhere else. But it happened and it is what it is.”

Brooks not only pronounced himself healthy and ready for training camp, he said his rehab went so well that if the Eagles won the NFC East last year and reached the playoffs he would have been able to play.

He was asked if the trade reports will serve as extra motivation and he said not at all, and he has a good reason why.

"I don’t use it as fuel because a trade doesn’t make me doubt myself,” he said. "If I had to go somewhere else in a trade or whatever happens if I have to go somewhere else to be the best, well then, I’ll go somewhere else to be the best. It’s part of the business, especially as you get older. I mean, we’ve seen some of the greats be with an organization for 15 years and then get released and have to play somewhere else. Never lose sight of that.”

Brooks said he never bothered to ask GM Howie Roseman or anybody in the front office about the trade talks simply because it was something out of his control that won’t affect the way he plays.

"I don’t think you really have to clear the air because I didn’t take it personal,” he said. "It doesn’t hurt my feelings or anything like that.

"Management does what’s best for the team so if they feel that’s best for the team that’s what they’re going to do. I don’t have any say, ‘Oh, no, don’t trade me.’ It’s just a part of life.”

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/nfl-trade-rumors-eagles-brandon-brooks-reacts-reports?fbclid=IwAR3aBXkY2nkn6uM76fl9_i3tH-AQ7p9GPp7Xk3UVIZIqTKF7NDlbIB8QapI

[rrfierce]

Good response, can't blame him for a being a bit pissed if they didn't even keep him informed though.

[time2rock]

Hoping he manages to stay healthy for the remainder of his career here.  That would be huge.  Maybe there was something in the way Doug ran practices that led to such a high injury rate and that it’ll change now with the new coaching regime.  

[pgcd3]

19 minutes ago, time2rock said:

Hoping he manages to stay healthy for the remainder of his career here.  That would be huge.  Maybe there was something in the way Doug ran practices that led to such a high injury rate and that it’ll change now with the new coaching regime.  

Unlikely it was the practice style and probably not much changes with the same OL coach.  In any case the sports science stuff can help with soft tissue injuries like hamstring pulls but nothing stops Achilles tears or ACLs unfortunately.

[time2rock]

7 minutes ago, pgcd3 said:

Unlikely it was the practice style and probably not much changes with the same OL coach.  In any case the sports science stuff can help with soft tissue injuries like hamstring pulls but nothing stops Achilles tears or ACLs unfortunately.

You’re probably right, the increase in injury frequency he has experienced recently is probably just a result of a lot of wear and tear on an aging (relatively speaking) body.